'93 blasts: Two Plaza bombers guilty

Two more accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case were found guilty on Monday by a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (prevention) Act court bringing the total number of those convicted so far to seven.

Asghar Mukadam and Shahnawaz Qureshi were convicted by Special Judge P D Kode for planting bombs at Plaza theatre.

Mukadam, accused number 10 in the case had driven a van laden with bombs packed in two suitcases at the Plaza theatre while Qureshi accompanied him. The blasts killed 10 persons and injured 37.

Mukadam was also charged with filling RDX in various vehicles which were used in the blasts and collecting money for carrying out the conspiracy.

Qureshi was found guilty of landing the RDX at Shekhadi in Raigad district which was later used for the blasts, filling of RDX in vehicles, participating in the meeting where the conspiracy was hatched, and going to Pakistan for training via Dubai.

Mukadam, the sixth of the 123 accused to be pronounced guilty by the court, was charged with committing terrorist act and murder under various sections of TADA, IPC, Explosives Substances Act and Explosives Act.

According to the prosecution, Mukadam had also participated in conspiracy meetings at the residence of co-accused Babloo alias Nasir Anwar Shaikh and Mubina alias Baya Musa Bhiwandiwala.

The court also found Mukadam guilty of facilitating terrorist acts by driving co-accused, who had planted explosives at Centaur hotel, Sahar airport and Hotel Sea Rock at Bandra.

The court would hear arguments on the quantum of sentence at a later stage.

Last week the court had found had found Tiger Memon's brothers Yakub, Yusuf and Essa and sister-in-law Rubina guilty in the case. It also found Shoaib Ghansar the man who planted the bomb at Zaveri Bazaar guilty.